Finnegan’s Flyer is the newest flat ride at Busch Gardens Williamsburg. This S&S Screamin’
Swing opened in 2019 and will have you soaring high above the Celtic coast and in this video
I will be reviewing this attraction. S&S unveiled the Screamin’ Swing in 2004.
This is a giant pneumatic powered swing ride. From 2004 to 2011,
S&S built 19 of these attractions. But sales slowed down at that point.
Screamin’ Swings are among the most expensive flat rides. The smaller models are often
upcharges while the larger models cost roughly $5-6 million. That’s an expense many small parks
are not willing to spend. They would rather purchase a small roller coaster for that price.
This makes the larger Screamin’ Swings a premium flat ride you don’t often see.
Most of these flat rides were built in the Untied States, but some were built overseas. Before
Finnegan’s Flyer opened in 2019, the most recent Screamin’ Swing had been built in Japan in 2014.
But Finnegan’s Flyer may signal a resurgence for the screamin’ swing.
Many US chains purchased multiple screamin’ swings across their parks. Cedar Fair purchased four,
Fun Spot purchased three, Herschend purchased two, and Palace purchased two.
And the Busch/SeaWorld parks may be doing the same thing.
Finnegan’s Flyer was the first screamin’ swing the chain added, but there are rumors both Busch
Gardens Tampa and SeaWorld San Antonio could be adding their own version of this ride in
the near future. And that’s fine by me since these are some of my favorite flat rides.
Finnegan’s Flyer is located in the Ireland section of Busch Gardens Williamsburg and
this ride has an excellent location. It’s built on a hillside adjacent to the Killarney Bridge.
The ride alone is 80 feet or 24 meters tall,
but it feels even taller since you swing over the hill. According to Google Earth, the drop
off from the ride platform to the bottom of this hill is roughly 36 feet or 11 meters. While this
isn’t quite as severe of an elevation change as the Giant Canyon Swing at Glenwood Caverns, it
definitely adds a lot to the experience and helps it stand out from the other Screamin’ Swings.
The ride itself doesn’t really have any theming, but it looks nice with
its commanding presence on the hill and its fresh green and orange paint scheme.
Unlike a lot of screamin’ swings that seem to run just one side, Finnegan’s Flyer ran both
sides in my visits to Busch Gardens. This made the attraction no more than a 10-15 minute wait.
One thing to note is that this ride often opens a half hour before the rest of the park.
Ireland is used as a staging area for the morning rope drop, so you can often get a few rides on
this attraction before anything else opens. Finnegan’s Flyer seats 32 riders across the two
arms. And I strongly recommend sitting on the side closest to the entrance.
This will allow you to look down the hillside during the ride’s swings. The staff will honor
this request and allow you to wait an extra cycle if all the seats on this side are taken.
This ride has the same restraints as the other screamin’ swings.
It’s a lap bar that swivels out from the side and lowers downwards. These restraints are
extremely comfortable and the staff at Busch Gardens didn’t seem to lower them as tightly
as the other parks I’ve visited, which allowed better airtime than usual on the max swings.
Once dispatched, Finnegan’s Flyer starts rocking back and forth,
rapidly building up speed. The first few swings don’t offer any airtime, but after
30 or so seconds, you reach the ride’s maximum height and that’s when the real fun starts.
You get 5-6 max swings and these are fantastic.
You levitate out of your seat for a few seconds on each swing. The airtime isn’t overly strong,
but the fact it’s sustained while you’re staring straight at the ground or the sky
makes it interesting. Those visuals are what make Finnegan’s Flyer special.
And that’s why I always ride on the side where you’re facing down at the hill.
The ride doesn’t offer strong positive Gs, but you do get a strong sense of speed on the valleys.
The ride feels considerably faster than its posted 45 mph or 72 kph speed.
Finnegan’s Flyer suffers from the same issue as the other Screamin’ Swings though.
It has a painfully short cycle. The ride is under 90 seconds in duration
and 2/3 of that time is spent speeding up and slowing down. This is due to the capacity of
the ride’s compressed air tanks limiting the ride duration. But for a large park like Busch Gardens,
this probably would have been necessary anyway to keep the ride’s throughput high.
So what would I rate Finnegan’s Flyer? I would give this attraction an 8 out of 10. It’s a
very good flat ride. The airtime and unique positions in which you experience that airtime
alone make this ride good, but I especially love the ride’s placement. It makes this screamin’
swing among the best. Of the non-coasters at Busch Gardens Williamsburg, I do prefer Mach Tower
and Escape from Pompeii, but Finnegan’s Flyer probably slots in as the third best non-coaster.
It’s something I’ll be sure to ride each visit. The only screamin’ swing I have personally
ridden that I prefer is Uppswinget at Liseberg, which has a similar placement on a hill.
I do need to ride the one at Glenwood Caverns though since that one looks to be the best.
Compared to the other mega pendulum rides, these rate closely to the giant frisbees for me. Giant
frisbees tend to have longer cycles, but I prefer the airtime and freedom on the screamin’ swings.
So those are my thoughts on Finnegan’s Flyer, the S&S screamin’ swing at Busch Gardens Williamsburg.
Have you been on this attraction? What are your thoughts on the screamin’ swings?
I would love to hear your thoughts down in the comments. If you enjoyed this review, I’d
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lot more roller coaster and amusement park videos here at Canobie Coaster. Thanks for watching!